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Miss Owens asked for her face, which is still horrifically mangled from the beating, not to be shown on camera on Tuesday.

'It's not a hate crime at all,' Miss
Hawkins said. 'We both know the reason why this happened, and it doesn't
make any excuses for him, I'm not defending him at all. I know why he
was angry, and that will come out.'

Neither woman elaborated about the 'real' reason behind the beating.

Brutality: Miss Owens was hospitalized for
several days after the attack, receiving treatment for a broken nose in
the beating that was so bad her eyes were swollen shut

Happy couple: Owens and Hawkins have remained together, despite the violent end to Thanksgiving dinner

Hawkins was arrested on Sunday and charged with second-degree assault, and later released on bond.

Family and supporters of Miss Owens believe those charges should be much more severe.

A
Facebook group entitled 'Charge Travis Hawkins Jr with the attempted
murder of Mallory Owens' has sprung up on Facebook, garnering more than 4,600 'likes' since it was formed.

Hawkins' lawyer, James Byrd, told the
TV station his client, age 18, has been forced to go into hiding after
numerous death threats.

'People have taken this and overreacted, and made it something that it's not,' Mr Byrd said.

Miss Owens' mother, Kristi Taylor initially told the TV station that Travis Hawkins allegedly beat her daughter because he disapproved of her gay relationship.

The accused: Travis Hawkins was charged with second-degree assault in the attack, and was later released on bond

'He tried to kill her. He's lucky he didn't kill her. She's lucky to be
alive. I didn't recognize her when I got here. It's hard to look at her
like that.'

Miss Owens was hospitalized and
treated for a broken nose and numerous lacerations. Her eyes were
swollen shut after the brutal beating and she had to receive facial
reconstruction surgery.

Ms
Taylor said that there was friction with the Hawkins family over the
fact that her daughter was gay and had a relationship with the sister,
which Hawkins reportedly did not approve of.

Despite the accusations, Hawkins
cannot be charged with a hate crime because Alabama law doesn't include
sexual orientation among bias offenses, according to the
Anti-Defamation League.